Contacts: You know people from many different walks of life; together, these disparate persons form a network of information and help that may well prove useful.
Your Contacts are not only the people you can manipulate or bribe to get information, but friends whom you can trust implicitly (Major Contacts) to provide you with accurate information (in the areas of expertise). You should describe your Major Contacts as complete characters, either as the chronicle progresses or beforehand. You also have a number of Minor Contacts spread through the area. When you wish to get in touch with a Minor Contact, make a roll using Contacts rating (difficulty 7). Each success means you have successfully located one of your Minor Contacts; of course, you will need to bribe or charm them into giving you the needed information.

• One Major Contact
•• Two Major Contacts
••• Three Major Contacts
•••• Four Major Contacts
••••• Five Major Contacts

Fetish: You possess a spirit fetish, a physical object with a spirit bound into it. It is a highly valuable object, full od great significance to the Garou, and has a number of powers granted by the invested spirit. The greater your score in this Background, the more valuable the fetish. See sample fetishes.


• You possess one Level 1 fetish.
•• You possess one Level 2 fetish or two Level 1 fetishes.
••• You possess one or more fetishes with a total of three levels.
•••• You possess one or more fetishes with a total of four levels.
••••• You possess one or more fetishes with a total of five levels.

Kinfolk: You are in contact with certain humans or wolves who, while descended from the Garou, did not receive the "gene" and so for all practical purposes are normal members of their species. They are immune to Delirium, however, and know of your origin; they are willing to help you however they can, though most are not in positions of power (those people are instead considered Allies). Networks of Kinfolk can be invaluable for Garou who wish to deal with the human world but cannot risk frenzy.

• 2 Kinfolk
•• 5 Kinfolk
••• 10 Kinfolk
•••• 20 Kinfolk
••••• 50 Kinfolk

Mentor: This Trait describes one or more elders who look after you. Each rating point of Mentor you possess quantifies how powerful your Mentor is within the tribe, and what Rank he or she has obtained. Your Mentor can advise you, protect you, speak for you to other elders, teach you, warn you of a potential faux pas, and inform you of opportunities for power and advancement. A powerful Mentor might not be a single person, but a group. Thus, a pack could be a collective Mentor, as could the ruling council of a sept.
Mentors may expect to receive something in return for the aid they provide. Though they may simply enjoy the company of the character, in times of need they may call upon their "apprentice." This is a good way to begin a number of excellent stories. In general, however, you do receive more than you give.

• Mentor is Rank 2.
•• Mentor is Rank 3.
••• Mentor is Rank 4.
•••• Mentor is Rank 5.
••••• Mentor is Rank 6 (or even higher!).

Past Life: Garou have a much better grasp of their ancestral memory than humans do; many werewolves can actually remember scenes from the lives of their distant forebears. Some Garou can even allow the spirits of their ancestors to take over their bodies. Such a surrogate consciousness may well be capable of performing feats of skill that the "host" themself could not.
A Garou with this Background may, once per game session, roll his Past Life Background (difficulty 8, or 10 if trying to contact the spirit of a specific ancestor). Each success allows the character to add one die to the Dice Pool of any Ability, or create a Dice Pool (of one die per success) for an Ability that the character does not even possess. Thus, a Garou with a Past Life of 4 s in a desperate battle; he is no great shakes as a warrior (Dex 2, Brawl 1), but rolls his Past Life rating (difficulty 8) and scores three successes. He has just contacted his ancestor, the mighty chieftain Fleshripper, who guides his claws in battle, effectively adding three to his Brawl score. Even if the character had no Brawling Talent whatsoever, he would now have an effective score of 3.
As heretofore noted, it is more difficult to contact a specific ancestors, but successful contact may provide precognitive visions or advice at the discretion of the Storyteller. All effects of the Past Life bonus last for one scene only.
A botch on the Past Life roll may indicate that the character becomes overwhelmed by the memories of thousands of lives (effectively rendering the character catatonic for the remainder of the scene) or, worse yet, may mean that the character is possessed by the spirit of an ancestor who subsequently refuses to relinquish the body. The ancestor will stay for a length of time dependent on the Storyteller's whim.

• You get hazy flashes of scenes from the distant past.
•• A few faces and places stand out in your mind.
••• You know some of your distant ancestors by name.
•••• You regularly have conversations with your ancestors as if they were in the room.
••••• You have gained repute among the ancestor spirits; they often come to you.

Pure Breed: This Background determines your "pedigree" - your lineage and ancestry, your markings and carriage, and other features of birth. Garou with high scores in Pure Breed are revered by other Garou as the heroes of old come to life - and they are expected to act like it. The higher your Pure Breed score, the more likely it is that you will be able to traverse the territory of other Garou unmolested or gain hospitality from a foreign tribe. It is the closest thing to status that Garou possess - Each point of Pure Breed adds an extra die to Social or challenge rolls involving other Garou (even Black Spiral Dancers!). Pure Breed is a semi mystical trait - eons of instinct tell other Garou who is Pure Bred and who isn't. In the present age, there are very few Pure Bred Garou left in the world.
In addition to the normal advantages of being a Pure Breed, Garou expect those who are pure of blood to "act as one of their lineage." Tribes expect more from those who are pure of blood, and they frown upon those who do not accept their heritage.

• You carry yourself well.
•• Your distant cousin in the distant past was the sidekick of a great Garou warrior.
••• Other Garou part to allow you passage.
•••• The bards of your sept blessed your birth as a sign from the spirits.
••••• You are the spitting image of the great heroes of yore.

Resources: This Trait describes your financial resources or access to such resources. Your Resources are not completely liquid assets, but you can often sell them to gain money. It may take weeks or even months to do so, depending on how much needs to be sold.
This Trait assumes that the character gains a basic allowance each month appropriate to the level of Resources. The source of this income must be detailed, however, as it could easily "dry up" depending on the circumstances of the chronicle.

• Small savings: You have an apartment and perhaps a motorcycle. If liquidated, you would have $1000 in cash. Allowance of $500 a month.
•• Middle class: You have an apartment or condominium. If liquidated, you would have $8,000 in cash. Allowance of $1200 a month.
••• Large savings: You own a house (or at least have some equity). If liquidated, you would have $50,000 in cash. Allowance of $3000 a month.
•••• Well off: You own a large house, or perhaps a dilapidated country manor. If liquidated you would have $500,000 in cash. Allowance of $9000 a month.
••••• Fantastically rich: You are easily a millionaire many times over. If liquidated, you would have at least $500,000,000 in cash. Allowance of $30,000 a month.

Rites: This Trait describes how many Rites the character knows at the beginning of the game. this rating may represent one big one or a number of lesser ones whose total levels equal the Rites rating; remember, however, that a character needs a Rituals Knowledge rating at least equal to the level of a given rite in order to learn it at all. Note: Two Minor Rites can be purchased in place of one Level One rite. See Rites for some examples.

• Character knows one level of rites.
•• Character knows two levels of rites.
••• Character knows three levels of rites.
•••• Character knows four levels of rites.
••••• Character knows five levels of rites.

• Totem: This Trait does not apply directly to the character, but to the totem of the pack. In fact, the Background points invested in this Trait by all characters in the pack are added together to determine the power of the pack totem. Pack totems are avatars of the totem they represent. They cannot be destroyed or bound into fetishes unless a pack is disbanded, although if they are reduced to zero Power, they will Reform elsewhere; during this convalescence, they may not be contacted by pack members.
Each totem has a Background Cost rating; the pack must spend that amount to ally with that totem. Some totems are willing to lend great powers to their devotees; these totems cost more than others. See Pack Totems, for a list of possible totems. The base totem spirit has seven points to divide among Rage, Willpower and Gnosis, and a base Power of 20. The totem also has the Charms of Airt Sense and Reform. Unless a special relationship is purchased (see below), the totem is somewhat aloof from the pack and is of minor influence within the community of spirits. Some pack totems, however, have become the totems of whole septs or even tribes; stories of such occurrences are common fare of the Galliards.
Totems lend special powers to the pack members, such as Gifts or Abilities. However, these power may only be used by one pack member at a time (per turn). Each turn, the pack member "borrowing" the powers must declare upon whom he endows them next turn (or if he still keeps them). The exception is Renown, which is awarded to all pack members when they ally with the totem.
Any extra points spent (after the totem's Background Cost has been spent) can be added to the totem's powers as listed below:

Cost Power
1 Per three points to spend on Willpower, Rage and/or Gnosis
1 Per 10 points of Power
1 Totem can speak to the pack (the pack does not require the Spirit Speech Gift)
1 Totem can always find the pack members
2 Totem is nearly always with the pack members
2 Totem is respected by other spirits
2 Per Charm possessed
3 Per Extra pack member who can use the totem's powers in the same turn
4 Totem is mystically connected to all pack members, allowing communication among them at great distances (Storyteller's discretion)
5 Totem is feared by agents of the Wyrm

The totem Trait is the only Background that can be increased through experience; the cost is per the chart above. However, the Storyteller should only allow this in special situations, and only if the pack in some way gains a new insight or connection to their totem during play. Such a special situation could be when a pack member gains a new Rank, or a new member joins the pack.